Editing Child marriage (section)

===Fear, poverty, social pressures, and a sense of protection===
[[File:Dame (Alice) Ellen Terry ('Choosing') by George Frederic Watts.jpg|thumb|English stage actress [[Ellen Terry]] was married at age 16 to 46-year-old [[George Frederic Watts]], a marriage her parents thought would be advantageous; later she said she was uncomfortable being a child bride. Terry died at the age of 81, in 1928.]]

A sense of social insecurity is a cause of child marriages across the world. For example, in Nepal, parents fear [[social stigma]] if adult daughters (past 18 years) stay at home. Others fear crimes such as rape, which not only would be traumatic but may lead to less acceptance of the girl if she becomes a victim of such a crime.<ref>Thapa, S. (1996). ITS PREVALENCE AND CORRELATES. Contributions to Nepalese Studies, 23(2), pages 361–375</ref> For example, girls may not be seen as eligible for marriage if they are not virgins.<ref name=":1" /> In other cultures, the fear is that an unmarried girl may engage in illicit relationships,<ref name=saudi2009>{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2009-04-30-saudi-arabia_N.htm|title=8-year-old Saudi girl divorces 50-year-old husband |work=[[USA Today]]}}</ref> or elope, causing a permanent social blemish to her siblings, or that the impoverished family may be unable to find bachelors for grown-up girls in their socioeconomic group. Such fears and social pressures have been proposed as causes that lead to child marriages. Insofar as child marriage is a social norm in practicing communities, the elimination of child marriage must come through a changing of those social norms. The mindset of the communities, and what is believed to be the proper outcome for a child bride, must be shifted to bring about a change in the prevalence of child marriage.<ref>[[Cristina Bicchieri|Bicchieri C]], Lindemans, Jiang. A social norms perspective on child marriage: The general framework. UNICEF, 2014</ref>

Families in extreme poverty may perceive daughters as an economic burden.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/s/gwi/rls/rem/2010/144989.htm|title=Targeting Girls in the Name of Tradition: Child Marriage|work=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> If they cannot afford to raise a child, seeking a [[Child marriage in the United States|child marriage]] for a girl can be seen as a way of ensuring her economic security and thus benefiting her as well as her parents.<ref name="Nour child marriage"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Zia |first=Asad |date=2013-01-01 |title=42% of underage married girls from Pakistan |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/487659/child-marriages-42-of-underage-married-girls-from-pakistan |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|title = International Law as an Instrument to Combat Child Marriage|last = Gaffney-Rhys|first = Ruth|year = 2011|journal = The International Journal of Human Rights|doi = 10.1080/13642980903315398|volume=15|issue = 3|pages=359–373|s2cid = 143307822}}</ref> In reviews of Jewish community history, scholars<ref>Lamdān, R. (2000). A Separate People: Jewish Women in Palestine, Syria, and Egypt in the Sixteenth Century (Vol. 26). Brill; see pages 28–31</ref><ref>A. Grossman, 'Child marriage in Jewish society in the Middle Ages until the thirteenth century' (in Hebrew), Peamim 45 (1990), 108–126</ref><ref>Abrahams, Israel (2005). Jewish life in the Middle Ages. Routledge; see pages 183–189</ref> claim poverty, shortage of grooms, and uncertain social and economic conditions were a cause of frequent child marriages.

[[File:Drawings by young Syrian refugee girls in a community centre in southern Lebanon promote the prevention of child marriage. (14496389777).jpg|left|thumb|Drawings by young Syrian refugee girls in a community center in southern [[Lebanon]] promote the prevention of child marriage.]]
An additional factor causing child marriage is the parental belief that early marriage offers protection. Parents feel that marriage provides their daughter with a sense of protection from sexual promiscuity and safe from sexually transmitted infections.<ref name="Nour child marriage">{{cite journal|last1=Nour|first1=NM|title=Child Marriage: a silent health and human rights issue|journal=Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology|year=2009|volume=2|issue=1|pages=51–56|pmid=19399295|pmc=2672998}}</ref><ref name="nourreport"/> However, in reality, young girls tend to marry older men, placing them at an increased risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection.

Protection through marriage may play a specific role in conflict settings. Families may have their young daughters marry members of an armed group or military in hopes that they will be better protected. Girls may also be taken by armed groups and forced into marriages.<ref name=":4" />

In many communities, there is social pressure to marry off girls at a young age. This practice is often justified by cultural norms and the belief that it provides social and economic stability.